Hong Kong Open: Treesa/Gayatri win, Tanisha/Ashwini qualify for main draw

The Indian duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand defeated Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen of the Netherlands to move into the second round of the Hong Kong Open Super 500 tournament on Tuesday.

One of the few Indian representatives in the main draw, Treesa/Gayatri won the 54-minute-long match in three games. The Indian pair started with a 21-15 win in the first game but the Dutch pair forced a decider after winning the second game 21-16.

In the final game, the Indian pair came good and won the match 21-15, 16-21, 21-16.

Other women's doubles pairing from India, Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponappa qualified for the main draw after defeating compatriots N. Sikki Reddy and Arathi Sara 21-16, 21-14.

Tanisha/Ashwini will face Chinese Taipei's. Chia Hsin Lee and Chun Hsun Teng in the opening round.

In women's singles, Malvika Bansod qualified for the main draw after her Thai opponent Pitchamon Opatniputh retired midway due to an injury while leading 14-21, 10-11.

Indian shuttlers returned a disappointing in the men's singles qualifying round as Kiran George, who won the Indonesia Masters title last week, failed to keep his momentum and failed to qualify for the main draw.

Kiran lost to Malaysian shuttler Jun Hao Leong 20-22, 21-14, 14-21 in the second round of qualification. Earlier, he had defeated Chinese Taipei's Yu Jen Chi 21-15, 21-17 in the opening round.

Other shuttlers Mithun Manjunath and Ravi also bowed out in the qualifiers after losing to the same opponent, Jason Gunwan of Hong Kong.

Mithun Manjunath and Ravi also bowed out in the qualifiers of the men's singles. Both the players lost to Hong Kong's Jason Gunawan.

Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat will be in action tomorrow with Lakshya playing against qualifier Su Li and Priyanshu taking on Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama.